1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a modular electrical service riser meter center and disconnect, and more particularly, to a modular electrical service riser that includes an elongated conduit that may be extended and retracted and is substantially linear when the conduit is extended into its raised operating position.
2. Description of the Related Art
Electrical service often needs to be provided on a temporary basis for, e.g., trailers used as temporary classrooms or used in the construction industry. Traditionally, initiation of temporary electrical service for such trailers required the services of a local electrical contractor at the individual site to install a meter fitting and a disconnect along with a service riser, for connection to an overhead power line or subfeed, or an entrance for connection to an underground power line or subfeed. When the trailer was moved to a new location, the hardware that was used in providing the temporary electrical service was discarded and new hardware installed at the new trailer location. This required a new electrical contractor to once again install a meter fitting and a disconnect and a service riser or entrance. Thus, each new location of the trailer required a duplication of the subcontracting, material and labor costs. These costs could be several thousand dollars at each trailer location.
One attempt to provide a system to solve these problems is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,158,679 to Ware. Ware discloses a tower attached to a portable trailer. When the trailer reaches the location at which electrical service is desired, the tower is raised up and a connection made to an overhead power line. When the trailer is to be moved to a new location, the tower is folded down on top of the trailer. As shown in FIG. 4 of Ware, when folded down, Ware's tower sits on top of, and extends beyond the end of, the trailer. This can lead to problems in transport, especially when the trailer is as big as the road will allow.
The tower that houses the cables of Ware's system includes two bends that each change the direction of the cables by 90.degree.. These sharp bends place significant stress on the cables and can damage the cables. In addition, such bends violate current standard bending radius rules requirements for service cables. Furthermore, Ware's system only envisions connection to an overhead power line and provides no means for connection to an overhead subfeed or to an underground power line or subfeed. As such, Ware's system cannot be used for many applications.
In addition, existing meters and disconnects are designed for use with either utility company power lines or a customer's subfeed, but not both. Therefore, the same equipment may not be able to be used when a trailer is moved from one location to another.
Thus, it would be desirable to provide a modular electrical service riser that can be transported from one location to another and reused, without requiring the duplication of the subcontracting, material and labor costs. The system should allow for connection to either an overhead or underground power line or subfeed. The system should not require sharp bending of the cables within the conduit that houses the cables.